Breath of Life
by Alexandra Romanovna
Summary: Where James is a Slytherin and Severus is a Gryffindor, but it doesn't stop Lily and James from falling in love.
1. Prologue

Our story starts on the chilly morning of September 1rst, as a small little boy aged eleven pecks his mother's cheeks, promises his father to write, and then promptly runs through a bricked wall.

Six hours and forty three minutes later, this raven haired boy steps out onto the pavement, dragging the cage in which his owl rests, and follows the booming voice of a giant that calls them out to the boats.

A further thirty minutes later, he excitedly turns around to face the sandy haired boy next to him as the elderly witch with a pointed hat and stiff expression shuts the door behind her, effectively locking the cluster of first years in a tiny room which he knows, as per his father's information, is where all boys and girls aged eleven wait before they are sorted into the four houses of Hogwarts.

'Where do you reckon you'll end up?' he inquires of the boy next to him, who looks only a little bit tired, though that is to be expected from the long and arduous journey they have had.

'Hufflepuff, I'spose,' the boy answers back. His name is Remus.

The raven haired boy scrunches his nose, 'Bit boring, wouldn't you say? Nothing interesting ever happens in Hufflepuff'

Remus shrugs his shoulders, 'What about you, James?'

James puffs his chest out arrogantly as he says, 'Slytherin's where I'm going. All the greatest wizards and witches come from Slytherin'

'I suppose you'll be with me then,' pipes up the boy standing to his right. His eyes are the colour of stormy gray skies and his black hair reaches an inch past his ears in tangled, wavy locks.

James steps back to include him into the conversation, 'Who're you?'

'Black,' the boy says, somewhat dejectedly. If James picks up on it, he refuses to show it. 'Sirius Black'

'I'm James Potter. I reckon we're cousins or something. All the pureblood family's are, and my mum's good friends with some guy named Alphard. D'you know him?'

Sirius raises his head in interest, 'He's my uncle. One of the only few people in my family I can stand'

James lips sneak up in a grin, and Sirius quips his mouth to the side in return.

'This is Remus,' says James, turning around to indicate the sandy-haired, blue eyed boy next to him.

Remus shoots him a smile and Sirius nods in return.

'You a pureblood too?' he asks, noting the way his newly-found friend's smile dips slightly.

'Yeah,' he replies quietly.

James opens his mouth to speak, but is interrupted by the creak of the door as it opens. Blinding light fills the dimly lit room, and his sense of smell is awash with mouth-watering odours of gravy, herbs, and treacle tart.

'Come along,' says Professor McGonagall, as she ushers the first years into the Great Hall.

His father had told him all about Hogwarts and his imagination had followed his father's recollected tales, but no amount of day dreaming, no matter how vivid and far-fetched could possibly live up to the real thing.

What little light was not provided by the thousands of floating candles, was shone down upon in brilliance by the stars above them. He knew that there was a ceiling above them, but had he not read Hogwarts: A History, he would not have been able to guess it.

'Look,' gasped Remus excitedly, as he pointed to the hat sitting on the stool in front of them, all traces of hesitancy and sadness gone from his demeanour.

'The Sorting Hat,' said Sirius, in a somewhat awed voice.

The chatter of excited whispers amongst the first years died down as the brim of the hat suddenly opened and it burst into song. James tried to keep up with what it said, but got distracted by the oddly hilarious shapes its 'mouth' took as it worded its poem.

Next thing he knew, Professor McGonagall was calling out names.

'Abbot, Cameron'

'Hufflepuff!' shouted the hat, as soon as it was set upon the blonde boy's head.

And so it began. 

* * *

**A/N: **This story isn't going to span from first year to seventh. I figured a little background was needed before I began the actual plot. The story may seem a little bit light-hearted right now, but it will start getting pretty serious, pretty soon.

My story's based on a prompt from a Hogwarts forum. I could've made James the best friend from their childhood and Severus the arrogant toe-rag who gets on her nerves, but I figured it'd be more interesting to see how the characters would adapt if their personalities and general storyline (Severus being the best friend, James being the git) remained the same, whilst they lived in different houses.

James being in Slytherin means this story is going to be a little bit dark. It'll be written primarily through his point of view, though I think I'll add moments which may seem inconsequential in this story, as separate fics written in the point of view of different people as kind of side-alongs.

Hope you like it. I may be needing a beta so do PM me if you're up for it.

Constructive criticism is _always_ appreciated!

Now go eat a delicious bar of chocolate, dear reader.


	2. Hardest of Hearts

**_Under the Birch Tree, By the Lake, Hogwarts._**

'Hes a git James, we've known that since third year,' said Sirius as he leaned his head to rest on the trunk of the tree behind him.

Beside him, James sighed in frustration.

'Why are you letting him get to you?' he continued, 'Its never bothered you before.'

Remus hummed in agreement as he flipped the page of the battered book that he was reading. Peter sat a little closer to the edge of the lake, throwing rocks into its glimmering surface out of boredom as he listened to his friends talk.

'I am _not_ letting him get to me,' insisted James with a glare directed towards his grey-eyed friend, who only scoffed in return.

Sirius opened his mouth to retort but Remus beat him to the punch, 'What happened this time?'

James ran his hand through his raven locks as he scoffed, 'The git had the audacity to _threaten_ me. Its like he's looking to be bullied again. Why did we stop anyways?'

'He became a boring subject,' said Peter with a slight shrug. 'Always reacted the same way: screaming he'd get his revenge but never following through on his threats.'

'Which is why you shouldn't take his recent threat to heart. It's not like he's going to actually do anything to challenge our authority,' murmured Remus, brows furrowing as he struggled to keep track of the conversation whilst trying to read.

'I know that,' snapped James. 'But where does he come off, threatening _me?_ Is he really that daft, or have our pranks finally driven him to the brink of insanity?'

'Maybe he's finally gained some Gryffindor courage,' Sirius smirked sardonically.

'That snake is a witless pansy. I have no idea why he was sorted there in the first place.'

'Everyone knows he did it for Lily,' said Peter, standing up to walk over towards them as he tired of creating ripples in the water.

'Lil- hold up,' said James as he sat up straighter. The hazel-eyed fifteen year old pushed his circular glasses further up his nose, 'He mentioned a Lily when he attempted to intimidate me into submission.'

Sirius scoffed at the very idea.

James continued with interest, 'Who is she?'

'Lily Evans,' said Remus, lifting his head to address his friend.

'The redhead?' asked Sirius with a somewhat curious tone as he struggled to sit up.

'That's the one,' confirmed Remus, 'She's a fellow prefect. We sometimes have rounds together.'

'I've seen her around the common room,' admitted Sirius, 'She's always hanging out with Snape.'

James turned his mouth down in disgust. Sirius continued, 'Never understood why though. They seem like polar opposites. Hes a slimy git who associates with nobody, which everyone is thankful for, and she's the opposite. I reckon she's mostly on good terms with everyone, and can throw a mean Bat Bogey Hex if you insult her or anyone she cares about. No doubt as to why she's in Gryffindor.'

'What exactly did Snape say about her?' asked Remus, turning to face James as he dog-eared the page he was currently reading and set his book down on the grass.

The trunk of the tree came into contact with James head as he leaned back, his eyes trailing the branches as they spiraled away from the center of the tree, 'Told me to stay away from her, as though _I'm_ the one corrupting her with my presence,' he said with a roll of his eyes.

Sirius turned to face him with a devilish grin, 'It'd be such a pity to give him what he wants.'

James matched his grin with a smirk of his own.

Peter's brows furrowed, 'What exactly do you have in mind?'

'Oh, come, Wormtail. We're going to give Evans exactly what every other girl at Hogwarts wants: A chance with dear old Prongs.'

The setting sun illuminated James' hazel orbs as he trained his gaze to the lake, 'Hold on to your heart, Evans, cause I'm coming to break it'

* * *

**A/N: **I do fear that last line was incredibly cheesy.

In the prologue you may have assumed that Sirius and James would end up in Slytherin with Remus going to Hufflepuff, but that's not the case. All the Marauders are in different houses: James is in Slytherin, Sirius is in Gryffindor, Remus is in Ravenclaw and Peter is in Hufflepuff. As the story unfolds, you'll see exactly why I sorted them this way, and how the houses affect their personalities and relationships. Severus and Lily are in Gryffindor along with Sirius.

I'll be posting companion pieces to add depth to the story and provide different perspectives. The first one will be written in the point of view of the Sorting Hat, explaining why everyone was sorted differently as well as providing glimpses into their character.

Reviews are always appreciated!

Go treat yourself to a cookie, you deserve it.

_Elizabeth Blossom: _I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)

_excessivelyperky: _That's not quite how I'm intending the story to fold out. I'm intending for the narration to be a little bit unreliable, so that there's more humanization to the story. The story's being told mainly through James' point of view, and what he sees and hears is not necessarily true. The truth will eventually come out, though it'll be inconspicuous and will be subtly refuting James' perception of the world. Thankyou for reviewing! :)


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